FlavorTown Ohio
Columbus Ohio is the capital of the state characterized by the surrounding corn fields and the seemingly few things to do in the state. Columbus is the diamond in the rough, a large city in a state that can sometimes feel uninhabited. As a native Ohioan I hear many people joke about how the only three things to see in Columbus are corn, corn, and more corn. While the countryside can seem sparse and devoid of life, the cities are full of it.
Recent growth has caused many new developments in the city including the cleaning of the rivers that pass through the city. becoming the 14th largest city in America, Columbus Ohio is the fastest growing city in America.
Recently a cultural shift has been taking place in America, the BLM movement had spurred a new way of looking at our history. This new wave of thinking looks at how we treat our historical figures, we are surrounded by statues of individuals who our culture no longer values. The best example for the outdated views is the many statues of confederate leaders and profiteers of slavery. One person who never fails to be mentioned is Christopher Columbus, the namesake of the capital city.
Because our culture no longer looks to honor individuals that we no longer agree with we have begun tearing down statues, this statue by the statehouse was removed in early July of 2020 because of the protests around it. This brings into question the name of the city, Columbus Ohio which was named in honor of Christopher Columbus, so should we look to change it?
Some people have begun to look at the prospect of renaming the city, different ideas have been passed around but none compare to the most popular idea, Flavortown. There are a few reasons that supporters of the rename Columbus movement cite as to why Columbus should be renamed to Flavortown, Columbus has the must restaurants per capita, and Columbus born celebrity Guy Fieri who commonly uses the phrase “Flavortown” in quips about visiting new and exciting restaurants is quite popular for his charity work in the city.
A Change.org petition to rename has reached over 130,000 signatures and raised hundreds of dollars. Make your voice heard and take some time to sign this petition and share it with your friends to help fight for justice in these trying times.
